A new study concludes that a ban on menthol cigarettes in Europe in 2020 made menthol smokers more likely to quit, contrasting previous Canadian studies on the positive public health impact of a ban on menthol cigarettes. backed up by research.

Christina Kyriakos of Imperial College London led the study in collaboration with researchers from Maastricht University and the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands and the International Tobacco Policy Evaluation Project (ITC Project) at the University of Waterloo in Canada. .

This Dutch study is the second major national survey to provide evidence of the strong impact of menthol cigarette bans on smoking cessation, and supports proposed menthol bans in the United States and other countries. ”

Geoffrey T. Fong, Professor of Psychology and Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo and Principal Investigator of the ITC Project

The research team examined a national sample of adult smokers of menthol and non-menthol cigarettes in the Netherlands before and after the EU’s menthol ban. Of menthol smokers surveyed before and after the ban, 26.1% quit smoking. This smoking cessation rate was higher than the control group of non-menthol smokers who quit only 14.1%.

In fact, the 12% increase in quit rates among menthol smokers after the European ban is greater than the 7.3% increased quit rate found in the ITC survey of menthol bans conducted across Canada in 2018.

For decades, tobacco companies have added menthol to cigarettes. Because menthol creates a cooling sensation that reduces the discomfort of smoke. It is easier to start smoking, and young people who have never smoked are more likely to switch to regular smoking and become addicted to nicotine.

For more than a decade, the World Health Organization and many other public health authorities have called on governments to ban the menthol found in tobacco to reduce smoking. It kills 7.1 million smokers worldwide and her 1.2 million nonsmokers annually from second-hand smoke. The global tobacco control treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, calls on countries to ban or limit menthol and other additives that make smoking easier.

To date, 35 countries have banned menthol cigarettes. On April 28, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a proposed rule banning menthol in tobacco and cigars. An ITC study released that day on the impact of Canada’s ban predicted that a ban on menthol cigarettes in the United States would lead more than 1.3 million smokers to quit.

A Dutch study also found that one-third of menthol smokers continued to smoke menthol cigarettes after the ban. The tobacco industry sells a variety of accessories to allow people to add menthol flavoring to their tobacco products.

“These tobacco industry actions are undermining the effectiveness of menthol bans,” said Mark Willemsen, co-author of the Dutch study. The impact of menthol bans on smoking cessation could be even greater.” He is Professor of Tobacco Control Studies at Maastricht University and Scientific Director of Tobacco Control at the Trimbos Institute.

Study, Impact of European Union Menthol Cigarette Ban on Smoking Cessation Outcomes: Longitudinal findings from the 2020–2021 ITC Netherlands Study are published in the journal. tobacco control.